Combined mail-box and door-bell



No. 6|3,0I6. Patented Oct. 2-5, |898. W. MCMILLAN.

COMBINED MAIL BOX AND DOOR BELL.

l (Application Vled Nov. 20, 1897.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MCMILLAN, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

COMBINED MAIL-Box AND Doon-BELL.V

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,016, dated October 25', 1898. Appnmion inea November 20.1897.` serai No. 659,294.. (No maa.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MOMILLAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Combined Mail-B0X and Door-Bell, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a combined mail-box and door-bell, and has for its object to provide a mail-box for attachment on the outside of a door or wall so constructed and arranged as to be capable of being used as a door-bell pull as well as a mail-box.

With this object in view my invention consists in a mail-box adapted for attachment on the outside of a door or wall, a bell adapted for attachment on the inside thereof, and improved connecting means whereby the mail-box may be operated as a bell-pull.

My invention further consists in a mail-box hinged at its lower end to the outside of a door or wall, a bell rigidly secured on the inside thereof, the door or wall being provided with an opening, a slotted lock-plate on the I indicates a lock-plate secured on the ininside of the door, and a notched lever passing through the opening in the door or wall attached at its outer end to the inner wall of the mail-box and provided with notches, whereby it serves the double function of locking the'mail-box and ringingthe bell when the mail-box is removed.

My invention further consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and afterward specifically* pointed out in the claims.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which myinvention most nearly appertains to make and use the same, I Will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the outside of a door having my improved combination mail-box and bell secured thereto in position for practical operation. Fig. 2 is a cen- Y tral vertical sectional view through the door and mail-box, the mail-box being shown in full lines in its closed position and in dotted lines in its open position. Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of the rear or inside of the mail-box detached. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the locking and bell-ringing bar.

Like letters of reference mark the same parts wherever they occur in the different gures ofthe drawings.

Referring to the drawlngs by letters, A indicates a door of any ordinary construction,

or it may be a wall, my invention being adapted for attachment to either doors or walls.

B is a hood or guard adapted to be secured to the outer face of the door or wall, being provided with an outwardly and downwardly inclined top through which the ordinary mailslot C is cut. This hood is open at the front and bottom, and within the hood is located the mail-box D, of the same general outline as the hood, but smaller, and connected tothe door or the back plate of the hood by means of hinges E at its lower inner corner. `Thefront plate of the Inail-box is provided with a knob Fand the rear plate with a vertical slot G,

having hinged cover O.

H is` an opening throughthe door or wall A.

side. of the door or wall A, provided with a vertical slot J, registering with the opening H, but of a less height.

K is a bracket secured on the inside of the door or wall, upon which is mounted a bell or gong L, having a radially-projecting arm M.

`N indicates a bar which is passed through the opening II in the Wall A and the slot J in the plate I, one end thereof being provided with a notch N to engage the lower wall of the slot G, a turn-button being pivoted to the rear .wall of the mail-box above the slot G. The bar N is provided with an elongated notch P, which is adapted to engage over the lower wall of the slot J of the lock-plate'I. It is further provided with a notch Q to engage the arm M of the bell, a notch R with inclined inner side, and inclined outer end S.

The parts composing my invention being in the position best illustrated in Fig. 2 in full lines the box will be protected by the hood IOO E, the extent of said oscillation being limited by the lengthY of the notch P in thebar N, which will be of a length to permit of sufficient movement of the bar to cause the arm M of the bell L to be moved far enough to ring the bell, this notch at the same time by its engagement with the lower Wall of the slot J preventing the mail-box from being pulled outward to its open position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

When it is desiredto open the -mail-box, a person inside of the house raises the latch end S of the bar N sufficiently to free the arm M of the bell and the notch Q of the bar N from engagement with each other. This operation also raises the bar sufficiently high to disengage the notch P from the lower wall of the slot J, leaving the box free to fall outward until stopped by the engagement of the notch R with the lower Wall of the slot J. When this occurs, the box will have assumed the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, with its upper end beyond the top of the hood B and open to permit the removal of the mailmatter therefrom.

To close the box, it is only necessary to push it back to its original position, when by the raising of the inclined latch end S and the inclined side of the notch R the notch Q will pass into engagement over the arm M of the bell and the notch P into engagement with theloWer Wall of the slot J, thus leaving the parts in the position to receive mail, as before described.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that I have produced a simple, cheap,

durable, and effective device in which a mailbox and door-bell are combined for joint operation the construction being such that there is little or no liability of any of the parts becoming broken or worn out by ordinary use.

While I have illustrated and described efcient means for carrying out my invention, I do not wish to be understood as restricting myself to the exact details of construction shown and described, but hold that any slight changes or variations, such as might suggest themselves to the ordinary mechanic, would properly fall within the limit and scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. The combination with a door or wall having an opening therethrough and a lock-plate on the inside of the door having a slot in line with said opening, of a mail-box hinged to the outside of the door, a bell secured inside of the door and a bar connecting the bell and mail-box and provided with an elongated slot engaging the bottom Wall of the slot through the lock-plate, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a door or wall provided with an opening therethrough, of a mail-box pivoted to the outside of the door, provided with a slot in its rear wall, a lockplate secured to the inner side of the door or wall having a slot registering with an opening therein, abell secured on the inside of the door or wall having a projecting arm, and a bar projecting through the opening in the door and a slot in the lock-plate, having a notch in its outer end to engage the lowerl wall 4of the slot in the rear wall of the mailbox, an elongated notch to engage the lower wall of the slot in the lock-plate, and a notch in its lower edge to engage the arm of the bell, substantially as described.

3. The combination with 'a door or wall provided with an opening therethrough, of a mail-box pivoted on the outside thereof having a vertical notch in its rear side coinciding with the opening in the door or wall, a lock-plate secured to the inner side of the door or wall and provided with a vertical slot coinciding with the opening in the wall, but shorter, a bracket secured to the inner side of the door or wall, a bell mounted on said bracket provided with an upward-projecting arm, a bar projecting through the slots in the mail-box and lock-plate and the opening in the door or wall, provided with a notch in its inner end to engage the lower Wall of the slot in the mail-box, and an elongated notch in its lower edge to engage the lower wall of the slot in the lock-plate, a notch with an inclined side, a notch at its inner end to engage the bell-arm and an inclined latch end, and a turn-button pivoted to the rear of the mailbox to secure the bar against rising, all substantially as described.

WILLIAM MCMILLAN.

Witnesses:

WM. p PHILLIPS, W. L. RYAN.

IOO 

